Have to relate this story as its been so frustrating that all I can do now is laugh. I purchased a SIMRAD TP 32 in June for a solo sailing trip from Darwin to Langkawi. The tiller pilot survived until the first bit of rain about 10 hours short of Aceh city in North Sumatra. At which point it filled up with water and wouldn't function. I contacted Simrad and the best they could offer was to send a new one to Singapore. Out of desperation I rang them again and pleaded for them to send one to me in Aceh. They agreed to do this at my cost and I awaited more correspondence via email. Having to move on I gave up on Simrad and hand steered the rest of the way to Langkawi.
On return to Australia I sent the TP 32 back to them under warranty. In their returns policy it states that they would email me on receipt of the returned item. Hearing nothing from them I rang and was told nothing had been received. I waited till the following week and still no correspondence so contacted Australia post and found out that they had indeed received it two days before I rang Simrad. I called Simrad and confronted them with this at which point the guy on the phone disappeared for five minutes and then returned to confirm that yes they had infact received it! An hour after the phone call I recieved an email to confirm that the parcel had arrived. Another hour later I am emailed that a new TP 32 had been sent.
A few days later I find out they have sent the new unit to an address that was given in Aceh. Even though I am back here in Melbourne. Now I have recieved information that the parcel is being held by the courier company because there is $700 dollars owing on the shipment. Ive had countless phone calls and emails with Simrad and they have basically told me its my problem. So here I sit $1350 poorer and no tiller pilot. I have to say I'm disgusted at the way Simrad just don't seem to give a **** about their customers.

Did you go back to your local dealer / retailer where you purchased from?

Or is it a case you went the cheap option and brought on line to save $10s and got such outstanding back up service ????????

Not questioning this experience but my SIMRAD TP32 has withstood extraordinary hardship without a murmur. Still works 12 years later.

I've had three TP32 tiller pilot . The first was dodgy out of the box , returned to whitworths and they just gave me one of theirs and sent my one off to Simrad. The replacement was great for 2 months of coastal cruising ,then the compass went . Lots of dramas trying to deal direct with Simrad ,was told I had to upgrade software before I returned it etc . Gave up and called whitworths ,sent it to them and they dealt with Simrad . This one took 6 weeks to replace . Been all good since then . I now carry an ancient tiller pilot as a spare , just in case . Must say the TP 32 handled every thing that was thrown at it steering wise . My mate had to hand steer his cav 32 when the sea built up ,while I let "George" just do his thing without a problem.

CaptKilljoy said
I gave up on Simrad and hand steered the rest of the way to Langkawi.

The (cheapest and easily set up) alternative to hand steering is sheet to tiller.
I set it up most times I have a course of more than a couple of miles.
Practice makes perfect. I (and the system) are not perfect but I have got it pretty well worked out and can't recommend it enough.
Give it a few tries and I reckon you will be hooked like me.
This is not a replacement for a tiller pilot, but is really handy when the TP packs it in.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Sheet-to-tiller-steering-video

Gary

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garymalmgren said..
CaptKilljoy said
I gave up on Simrad and hand steered the rest of the way to Langkawi.

The (cheapest and easily set up) alternative to hand steering is sheet to tiller.
I set it up most times I have a course of more than a couple of miles.
Practice makes perfect. I (and the system) are not perfect but I have got it pretty well worked out and can't recommend it enough.
Give it a few tries and I reckon you will be hooked like me.
This is not a replacement for a tiller pilot, but is really handy when the TP packs it in.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Sheet-to-tiller-steering-video

Gary

Thanks Gary
Ill probably try this when I get back to the yacht. Although Ive heard it doesn't work so well on an S&S 34. I guess its all in the balancing of the sails.

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Craig66 said..
Did you go back to your local dealer / retailer where you purchased from?

Or is it a case you went the cheap option and brought on line to save $10s and got such outstanding back up service ????????

This was my first thought?

If you had purchased from a shop I would of contacted them and let them do the leg work.
Somewhere like Navico deals with its dealer network much easier than customers, just because they do it every day. A dealer is better at customers!!

Second thought, do you have a record of where you asked them to send the unit to Melbourne rather than Aceh?
If so you have some pretty strong claims to get some $$ back

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rumblefish said..

Craig66 said..
Did you go back to your local dealer / retailer where you purchased from?

Or is it a case you went the cheap option and brought on line to save $10s and got such outstanding back up service ????????

This was my first thought?

If you had purchased from a shop I would of contacted them and let them do the leg work.
Somewhere like Navico deals with its dealer network much easier than customers, just because they do it every day. A dealer is better at customers!!

Second thought, do you have a record of where you asked them to send the unit to Melbourne rather than Aceh?
If so you have some pretty strong claims to get some $$ back

I guess the problems started when Navico failed to follow their own returns policy.

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MorningBird said..
Not questioning this experience but my SIMRAD TP32 has withstood extraordinary hardship without a murmur. Still works 12 years later.

Ive killed two this year on my S&S. Going to try a Pelagic next.

ss 34s are heavy on the rudder down wind following sea especially the unbalanced skeg hung mk I
I installed a manual reset circuit breaker for my tiller pilot that is lower than max load draw. So when it gets too heavy it just trips out and I go manual.

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Jolene said..
ss 34s are heavy on the rudder down wind following sea especially the unbalanced skeg hung mk I
I installed a manual reset circuit breaker for my tiller pilot that is lower than max load draw. So when it gets too heavy it just trips out and I go manual.

This is true in a racing, especially spinnaker, situation.

Cruising downwind the S&S is fine except in very steep quartering seas, the sort you get in the open ocean with a good wind and swell combining. Even then the Fleming and the SIMRAD cope well.

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CaptKilljoy said..

garymalmgren said..
CaptKilljoy said
I gave up on Simrad and hand steered the rest of the way to Langkawi.

The (cheapest and easily set up) alternative to hand steering is sheet to tiller.
I set it up most times I have a course of more than a couple of miles.
Practice makes perfect. I (and the system) are not perfect but I have got it pretty well worked out and can't recommend it enough.
Give it a few tries and I reckon you will be hooked like me.
This is not a replacement for a tiller pilot, but is really handy when the TP packs it in.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Sheet-to-tiller-steering-video

Gary

Thanks Gary
Ill probably try this when I get back to the yacht. Although Ive heard it doesn't work so well on an S&S 34. I guess its all in the balancing of the sails.

I can confirm the S&S34, in the configuration mine is in, isn't much suitable for sheet, or in Gary's case clew, to tiller. However, very few S&S34s have the same setup so it is worth experimenting.
It also depends on where you are sailing. Open ocean where you change course twice a day is very different of course to running around the harbour or coastal.

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Jolene said..
ss 34s are heavy on the rudder down wind following sea especially the unbalanced skeg hung mk I
I installed a manual reset circuit breaker for my tiller pilot that is lower than max load draw. So when it gets too heavy it just trips out and I go manual.

Thats a great idea Jolene. My first Simrad lasted four years but was overloaded and died in a blow in Bonaparte gulf. steep short period waves. Im still hopeful to get it fixed in Phuket as Ive had some great conversations with it sailing solo LOL

Wow, I feel your pain, that is atrocious. Off to consumer Protection.......

It's not much help to you now, but Raymarine offer a global warranty which is one reason I opted for the ST2000+. Of course it had all sorts of problems too, but that's another story.

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wongaga said..
Wow, I feel your pain, that is atrocious. Off to consumer Protection.......

It's not much help to you now, but Raymarine offer a global warranty which is one reason I opted for the ST2000+. Of course it had all sorts of problems too, but that's another story.

When you open these devices up its surprising how poorly they are made considering the price.

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Jolene said..
ss 34s are heavy on the rudder down wind following sea especially the unbalanced skeg hung mk I
I installed a manual reset circuit breaker for my tiller pilot that is lower than max load draw. So when it gets too heavy it just trips out and I go manual.

That's really smart Joelene.
I wish I could find a recent article where they were trialling autopilots that provided height control for foiling. It had two knuckled wishbones that not only pushed port starboard but controlled tilt through a forward/backwards knuckle. The engineering was so cool but a few teething problems still to be worked out, like how to stop a massive pitch pole as you are cruising up the coast...on your foils.......they sound like such strange bedfellows, cruising and foiling, I'm still struggling with the concept let alone trusting that to an autopilot!

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CaptKilljoy said..

MorningBird said..
Not questioning this experience but my SIMRAD TP32 has withstood extraordinary hardship without a murmur. Still works 12 years later.

Ive killed two this year on my S&S. Going to try a Pelagic next.

Hiya Captain,
Can you post back and let us know how the Pelagic measures up? I'd be really interested to see if they support damping, which I find is the setting I need to change on the water to suit a range of conditions.
Admittedly, in the perfect world the sensor inputs damp also, but even the pilot alone I find makes a big difference to boat manners.

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shaggybaxter said..

CaptKilljoy said..

MorningBird said..
Not questioning this experience but my SIMRAD TP32 has withstood extraordinary hardship without a murmur. Still works 12 years later.

Ive killed two this year on my S&S. Going to try a Pelagic next.

Hiya Captain,
Can you post back and let us know how the Pelagic measures up? I'd be really interested to see if they support damping, which I find is the setting I need to change on the water to suit a range of conditions.
Admittedly, in the perfect world the sensor inputs damp also, but even the pilot alone I find makes a big difference to boat manners.

Sure will Shaggy, can't wait to try it out. they look like a pretty robust unit.

Just got my Pelagic Tiller pilot in the mail. Makes the Simrad look like a babies toy

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CaptKilljoy said..
Just got my Pelagic Tiller pilot in the mail. Makes the Simrad look like a babies toy

Good on you, looking forward to hearing all about how it work for you.
For those of us who might also want to play with the big kids, can you tell us how much it set you back?

Cheers, Graeme

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wongaga said..

CaptKilljoy said..
Just got my Pelagic Tiller pilot in the mail. Makes the Simrad look like a babies toy

Good on you, looking forward to hearing all about how it work for you.
For those of us who might also want to play with the big kids, can you tell us how much it set you back?

Cheers, Graeme

It cost about $1800.00 so about $500 more than the Simrad, but comes with an extra actuator arm. so big tick there. installation was easy, just some slight adjustments to the previous mounts. Turned it on and off I went, great stuff. All the main electrical components are set up down below so away from the elements. Wish Id known about this great product before I went down the Simrad black hole.

Is there any way to get it to steer to wind with NMEA2000?

I haven't fully set it up yet but looking at the manual it appears to have full steer to wind option and NMEA 2000
wiring.

Cheers, would be interesting to see, as so far, the only way I can see that you can do steer to wind with a full NMEA2000 system is by having a TP22 or TP32 with a converter cable. Surprising that there aren't tiller pilots designed to do it natively.

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CaptKilljoy said..
Just got my Pelagic Tiller pilot in the mail. Makes the Simrad look like a babies toy

Any chance of an update on the Pelagic Tiller Pilot?

You can't beat a good windvane for self steering. Especially on a ss34. Mine steered through all sorts of weather. Granted it did lose a sheave but it still worked jury rigged from just off Australia all the way to St Lucia. Just after rounding Cape of Good Hope I had 8 days of steady 35 knots with a short steep following sea sailing at around 160 -180 degrees with a triple reefed main only. Watching the Flemming windvane work so hard was amazing. Not many electric auto pilots would have handled that. Setting it up to sail within 1 degree of your course in normal conditions is easy. Knowing you can fix it on the middle of the ocean is priceless.
i'll put a video up if anyone is interested

yes to the vid please Andy!

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andy59 said..

i'll put a video up if anyone is interested

Lemme think about that for a second....yes !!!
That'd be awesome Andy.
Did you ever do a blog on your trip?

Sorry just having a few issues charging my laptop. I will put the video up as soon as I get the charger sorted. I did a blog before I left but didn't really do much once I was sailing.

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andy59 said..
Sorry just having a few issues charging my laptop. I will put the video up as soon as I get the charger sorted. I did a blog before I left but didn't really do much once I was sailing.

Concur. My Fleming handled everything thrown at it on multiple Lord Howe trips. We had 50+ kts a few times and 30+ pretty often and even dead downwind it was great.
Morning Bird is approaching Wilsons Prom with her new owner. I felt really down that she has actually gone but the new owner is an excellent new custodian.

Heres a short video about the Fleming windvane.